Luigi’s Mansion 3

Boos have been giving the Brothers Mario the runaround for over 30 years at this point, and they have once again re-appeared in the latest Luigi’s Mansion as a collectable enemy type. In this quick guide we’ll let you know everything you need to know about locating and catching them, as well as giving you some hints on where to start looking for them.

Want more help with Luigi's Mansion 3? We have a walkthrough for every boss and a guide to finding every Gem.

How to Catch a Boo

Step 1: Locate the Boo

2 F3 Kungboo Taunt

Boos, as you may well know, are the Mario series’ rotund ghost characters. In Luigi’s Mansion 3 a Boo will appear on all floors on which you have already defeated the boss ghost (hence, there is no Boo to catch on the very top floor. Well, aside from the obvious one).

When you are closing in on the general location of the floor’s Boo, Gooigi will visibly wobble (all controllers and system revisions) and you will feel a vibrating pulse from the controller (this will not happen on Switch Lite or on any controllers without rumble). The soundtrack will change when you have located the correct room.

Using these visual and tactile vibrations, the goal is to identify the room and the specific piece of furniture the Boo is hiding in.

  • The intensity of the vibration will increase the closer you are to the Boo’s hiding place – try standing next to several different pieces of furniture to gauge when the vibration is most intense
  • The type of furniture you need to look in may be newly placed in the level (such as the suits of armor on floor 6 or the laundry baskets on floor 13). However, this is not reliably the case (e.g. the Boo hiding in the drawers of the dressing room on floor 2)
  • While objects like bins and drawers require you to press the A button to open them, others require you to smash them (via a plunger throw) or uncover them (take-in air with your Poltergust)
  • If you guess wrong, the Boo will emerge from its hiding place to taunt you. Then:
    • On smaller floors (e.g. Floor 1), the Boo will find another piece of furniture to hide in nearby
  • On larger floors (e.g. Floor 3), the Boo can move to another room entirely – the level’s usual soundtrack will return to indicate that the Boo is no longer present

Step 2: Defeat and Catch the Boo

Once you have discovered the Boo’s hiding place it will introduce itself and then disappear. You may be able to see its movements in any floor-level mist (they leave a trail in their wake), otherwise they will rematerialize when it’s time to attack (they spin quickly towards you).

To defeat them, you should:

  • Hit them with the dark-light device (whether visible or invisible) to stun them
  • Keep the dark-light trained in them until they and spit out their tongue
  • Suck up their tongue with the Poltergust
  • Pull away from the Boo and repeatedly slam them against the ground using A

You will need to repeat this combat cycle at least twice for each Boo.

Boo List, Locations and Terrible Boo Puns

Disclaimer: Through save reloading (and various mistakes), we have found that there is a random element to where Boos are located, therefore:

  • We cannot tell you which specific container to check (instead, see our tips in ‘locate the boo’ above), as even if you find the Boo in the same room it could be in any of the other containers in the room
  • ‘Where we found it’ should be considered a direction to begin your search in rather than a statement of where you will definitely find the Boo – larger floors tend to have multiple locations where the Boo may appear

Floor B1: Basement – Boosement

B1 Boosement E

Where we found it: Laundry Room, in a top-loading washing machine.

Floor 1: Grand Lobby – Gumboo

F1 Gumboo E

Where we found it: Lobby, in a toolbox.

Floor 2: Mezzanine – Booigi

F2 Booigi B

Where we found it: Dressing Room, in a drawer.

Floor 3: Hotel Shops – Kungboo

F3 Kungboo K

Where we found it: Elevator Hall, in a garbage can

Floor 4: The Great Stage – Boogie

F4 Boogie C

Where we found it: Restroom (Ladies), in a Toolbox

Floor 5: RIP Suites – Booldog

F5 Boolldog C

Where we found it: Room 508, in a bedside drawer

Floor 6: Castle MacFrights – Boo-at-Arms

F6 Boo D

Where we found it: Coliseum Balcony, in a suit of armor

Floor 7: Garden Suites – Bootanist

F7 Bootanist F

Where we found it: Thorny Bathroom, in a broken sink

Floor 8: Paranormal Productions – Booducer

F8 Booducer C

Where we found it: Horror Set, in a black storage chest

Floor 9: Unnatural History Museum – Boones

F9 Boones A

Where we found it: Exhibit Hall, in a covered painting

Floor B2: Boilerworks – Combooster

B2 Combooster C

Where we found it: Main Tank, in a fridge

Floor 10: Tomb Suites – Anuboo

F10 Anuboo D

Where we found it: Snake Chamber, in an amphora jar

Floor 11: Twisted Suites – Boofuddler

F11 Boofuddler B

Where we found it: Trainer’s Bedroom, in a fridge

Floor 12: The Spectral Catch – Boocaneer

F12 Boocaneer C

Where we found it: Beach, in a keg

Floor 13: Fitness Center – Boodybuilder

F13 Boo C

Where we found it: Pool, in a laundry basket

Floor 14: The Dance Hall – Boosician

F14 Boosician B

Where we found it: Elevator Hall, in a garbage can


This article is part of our Luigi's Mansion 3 guide, you might also be interested in All Gems - Gem Location Maps For Every Floor and Boss Walkthroughs And Strategies.